Little rays of hope
by Yummytacos
Summary: Tales of Vesperia. Yuri questions Karol's fear of lightning. YurixKarol friendship. Oneshot.


Vesperia definently needs some more fics…so I decided to contribute(You clap here) thank you, but hold your applause…actually,

Vesperia definitely needs some more fics…so I decided to contribute(You clap here) thank you, but hold your applause…actually, no, keep clapping. Anyway…so I made this little oneshot, which is Karol and Yuri(friendship, brotherly like bond thingy.) cause I love the brotherly like bond that the two form in the game, when it comes to character development, the Tales of series deserves a medal(a shiny one to) Expect a lot of Vesperia one shots from me. No romance though, cause there isn't really a romantic pairing that I liked in the game.

Yuri's PoV

Darkness. There was a lot more of this lately, because the farther into this we got, it seems that our problems just seemed to add up, and pile up some more. In fact, it would seem strange if anyone could be upbeat in time like this…and no one was.

Even worse, it was another storm…the weather really seemed to reflect the mood that everyone had right now. Nothing but pitch dark with little rays of light that barley kept us going. Not that the light helped much, because the pouring of rain held us back.

Speaking of rain, I was soaked. I was the only one out on deck, which isn't that surprising in the middle of a storm. Estelle and Rita were probably in their room, Rita working on some research as Estelle happily makes conversation. Raven was probably somewhere groaning about how the weather is bad on an old man's health. And Judith was probably somewhere…being Judith, whatever exactly that was.

After a while I'm really sick of getting rained on. I sigh and head back in.

"Oh…this weather is giving this old man a cold…" Raven moans as I walk past him. I totally didn't see that coming…

Judith is leaning against the wall, her eyes closed. But, that doesn't really mean she's asleep, and she leans up as I prepare to open the door to my room. "I was wondering if you would come back in." She says and I just kinda let it slide and creek the door open.

All the lights are off, which is surprising, because Karol never left all the lights off. He even kept a small candle lit while we slept. But no, here it was, pitch black. "I didn't think the dark suited your tastes Captain Karol." I laugh softly, feeling my way around the room until I find a candle. Even if it's just a candle, it does a wonder in the dark.

"What's you problem anyway?" I ask, seeing the boy with his face smushed in the pillow. He had to be cold, wearing a pair of light blue shorts and a t-shirt, yet he seemed fine. "Karol?" I ask again, sitting on the side of his bed.

"I-I'm…" He stutters, "I'm afraid of storms! Ok Yuri?!" He pouts. That wasn't like Karol, well…pouting is, but he never admits that he's afraid of anything. I mean, he isn't afraid of horrific monsters but he's afraid of storms? That's nothing like the Karol I know.

"The great Captain Karol afraid of storms?" I jest, which I soon realize was not the right move.

"Sh-shut up!" He groans and stuffs his face back into the pillow.

"Sorry, just kidding. What's up?" I ask, nudging his shoulder a bit. He doesn't answer though, just sits, there, shivering. Every time thunder struck though, he'd shake, and I soon found my myself resting my hand on his shoulder "Common, it's already depressing enough in the storm, your supposed to be the one who's upbeat no matter what."

He tosses around so he's leaning up against the bed, but still won't look at me "You wouldn't understand anyway…you'd call it stupid or tell me to forgot about the past or something." I kind of feel guilty now. Is that what Karol thought of me…that I didn't really care?

"Try me." I grin, hoping he sees it, and wrap one arm around him and pull him a bit closer. I like my choice of wording though, I mean, sure, I almost want to just say 'go on little bro, you know I'll listen to anything you say…' but that's way to direct. I like being indirect-implying things rather than saying them up front.

"Promise you won't make fun of me or anything Yuri?"

"Course" I smile, Karol is ending up kind of like me to. He really wants to tell me all of this stuff, but doesn't want it to seem like that. I hope I didn't make him like that, but I probably did… I know he wants more affection, more understanding from me, but if he showed anything, I'd probably tell him not to get all mushy. "I promise" it had a little more meaning then 'course' and Karol leans his head over on my shoulder to rest as he begins.

"I can't help it Yuri…whenever a storm comes…it reminds me of just how useless I am." He sniffs

"Come on, none of that" I scold him lightly and ruffle his hair "Thought you were through with all of that 'I'm useless' crap."

He looks down again and sighs "Yuri, if I'm so good…why have I been kicked out of so many guilds…"

"Eh, you were just to cool for them. They couldn't handle the awesomeness of Karol Capel." I joke, and get a little laugh from him, which I'm quiet relieved to hear. "But Karol, I still don't get what this has to do with storms" I hate to bring up to subject again, but I know this wouldn't help Karol's little problem, it would just get off track.

"R-right…" His cheerful mode dies down quickly "It was the first guild I joined…some small guild, but I mean…it was what I called home. My pa-…my parents they…" I hated to see him like this…and could only guess that his parents were dead.

"You ok Kar?" I ask, and he just sniffles and presses his face against my shoulder, wetting my clothes with his tears. I know going through his past meant bringing up memories that he would love to pass up, but I was happy to know about them…after all, I should know my brother's past.

I loved calling Karol my brother, even if I only really called him that in my thoughts, it meant something…having him like my little brother, cause he really was. I looked after him, I cared about him, and I was always proud of him when he accomplished something. Ya, we had little arguments sometimes, but I think that only made us closer.

"S-sorry…." He finally says, leaning up again.

"Don't worry about it…" I say, and gently guide his head so it rests on my shoulder again. It felt better this way, and let me know he was there beside me.

"My parents…they died in the war. I joined my first guild when I was only 8." That seemed so long ago, but I realize it was only 4 years in the past. "I know I was just a hassle to them…but…I, I _thought _they cared about me. It was the only family I ever knew…I mean, my parents died when I was a baby…" I grip onto shoulder to give him some support, and he continues "Then…after almost 7 months of being in the guild…a few of the members tell me that I can come with them on a special guild quest. So-" He sniffles a little more

"It's pouring down rain when we get to the forest, a heavy storm…" He continues "When we get out there, one of them just starts laughing…he asks me if I actually thought they needed me for a special quest…and says of course not…they don't need me for anything. I'm just holding them back…so they just leave me there, a few of them hit me around a bit until they finally just…" Karol is obviously crying more now, panting as he tells me his story. "They just push me down and leave me, stranded, with no one around…so I sit there for hours…getting sick, my clothes soaked…I'm soaked to the bone…I just…every little thunder strike startles me, every little-" He just goes on…and I grip onto him tightly.

"It's ok." I ensure him, and he cries onto my chest, soaking my shirt and exposed chest. I want to tell him 'that will never happen again, we'd never leave you, we'll always be there' because I'm sure that's what he fears. He's always trying to prove how useful he is, because he thinks if he isn't good enough, he'll be left in the dust.

"No Yuri!" He finally cries, swarming out of my arms and off the bed "What…what if you all do the same! After we finish this all…you won't need me anymore!" He cries, and I quickly get up as well.

"Karol…you know…sometimes it isn't about us needing you for fighting…or needing you to do this or that…" I tell him, in a slightly stern voice "Karol, you're my friend, and I'd never-never, leave you." I leave it at that, and sit myself back on the bed, leaving Karol to stand there blankly for a few minutes.

"Yuri…" He says softly, and hops back on the bed, sitting down on my lap "Thank you…"

I smile and wrap my arms around him "You must be cold" I say, and pull the blanket around both of us.

"Yuri…you…you mean what you said…?" He sniffles, leaning his head back on my chest, his soft hair resting against it.

"I promise little bro." I say directly to him

"Don't get all mushy on me…Oni-san." He laughs, ,which soon turns into a yawn. The storm is still as strong, but Karol doesn't seem to mind, because I realize now he's fallen asleep, and I lean my head back and intend to do the same. I leave the candle on…because it does help. A little light in the darkness, only in a literal sense, because I know that I'm really holding my little light in my arms as I drift into sleep, knowing that tomorrow the sun will be shining.

Thanks for reading, plzzzzz review .


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